Lichdom: Battlemage

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 179 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 94 out of 179
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 179
  3. Negative: 46 out of 179

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  1. bombrero
    Aug 29, 2014
    4
    Im going to review this game from an gamer point of view rather than just telling how beautiful the world is (which is true), or how you can destroy everything on sight (which is not true) and pinpoint the various aspects of the game, and its good things and bad things.

    The good things: -It has indeed a very well crafted and beautiful enviroment -The graphics are not great but pretty    Im going to review this game from an gamer point of view rather than just telling how beautiful the world is (which is true), or how you can destroy everything on sight (which is not true) and pinpoint the various aspects of the game, and its good things and bad things.

    The good things:
    -It has indeed a very well crafted and beautiful enviroment
    -The graphics are not great but pretty much competent
    -The spell's aditional effects can result in pretty satisfying combos (although pretty much rarely for the most part, see why below)
    -The loot system is a good choice for the game, since it is simple and rewards you with tons of sigils, which you indeed need to keep upgrading your spells.

    The bad things:
    -Some optimization problems (like v-sync is broken inside the game, so youll have to force it through the gpu) but is no biggie.
    -The story is not showed as an interesting development, it just "happens". You are offended, awakened after that, told about the current situation, and sent to pursuit evil spewing corny lines every once in a while. The horrible cliche lines take the nobility from the game for my taste.
    -The combat system has almost nothing more to offer compared to the system of Skyrim, which the game appears to have inspired on: You just cast the spells charging them in your right hand while you hold a custody (magic shield) on the left one, and you can choose from AoE or missile types of spells.
    The only difference is that those spells have additional effects to them, like stunning, critical hit enhancing when the stun is broken, slowing the enemy, lowering their mastery (dont even know what that is, the game did never explain it to me) The downside to this is that the "break stun with a critical strike" effect is really common, but it's almost impossible to do so, since you can achieve a 100% critical chance by charging your spells, which takes an average of 3 seconds to charge and hit an opponent at mid range, while the stuns usually last for 2 and a half seconds, so you are forced to lower your damage to achieve faster speed, resulting in the same damage output for two spells instead of just one. That made the game a constant chore of charging fireballs,launching them, rinse and repeat while using shield on nearest enemy. There wast really much more into it.
    -There was a lot of spells types I missed, like for example rays and channeled ones to deal with the closer enemies, elemental clones to distract enemies, damaging or slowing auras in proximity, walls of elements. Anything other than fireballs (or ice balls or lightning balls) and novas with instant damage, stun break damage or damage over time to choose from them) is really missed, since it becomes repetitive really fast.

    In conclusion, its WAY too simple and repetitive to consist in a game of its own. It boils down to essentially two types of attacks per element (missiles or AoE) with little status effects differences and one shield per element, which again presents little status effects differences, but works the same, so just charge -> release -> block, repeat.    … Expand
  2. themagiccan
    Aug 30, 2014
    0
    If you want to play this game for free, stare at your desktop, hold the mouse button for 3 seconds to charge a spell, then release. Once again, hold the mouse button for 3 seconds to charge a spell, then release. Repeat.
  3. Ndi
    May 12, 2015
    6
    So much potential, so much wasted.

    * Tech issues: No-vsync has at least SOME tearing, VSync locks to 30. Inexplicably can only do 62 FPS on a 79 series AMD when facing a wall. It is smooth and decent, but I can't help but feel like it wasn't optimized correctly. I should be able to render a rock at 62+ FPS if I can render 1000 rocks at 50. Maybe. * Gameplay: Encourages    So much potential, so much wasted.

    * Tech issues: No-vsync has at least SOME tearing, VSync locks to 30. Inexplicably can only do 62 FPS on a 79 series AMD when facing a wall. It is smooth and decent, but I can't help but feel like it wasn't optimized correctly. I should be able to render a rock at 62+ FPS if I can render 1000 rocks at 50. Maybe.

    * Gameplay: Encourages experimentation, punishes you for the useless combos. Encourages you to experiment combinations, makes you lose progress if you switch sigils. Encourages you to try-and-die, with limited, non-regenerating shield boosts, kills your loot if you die. No quicksave or quickload. Very linear levels. VERY. Making me painfully slow doesn't make the level bigger. Can't jump. Designs levels so you can see ahead, but have to go around for 20 minutes (not ACTUALLY 20 minutes). Weirdly spaced checkpoints. No difficulty settings.

    This is how you do Early Access wrong. You listen to (or are) 15 year olds (inside) who believe games are challenges. Nobody cares if you beat Battlemage, dude. Nobody. There is no point in not letting me save. I'm tired. I'm done. Keep me in your game for more than I want at your own peril. Reset my progress at your own peril. Put checkpoints before cutscenes at your own peril.

    There was a discussion on Early Access with someone suggesting that people with 2 year old child simply cannot play long sessions. Developer responded that checkpoints work fine, you don't lose your loot. As if loot was the *** point. Repeating fights, that's the point. Dying replenishes your shield, checkpoints don't, so it encourages you to jump off a cliff.

    And don't get me started on enemies that take control from you, flying and dodging enemies, cheap enemies that spawn behind you, and enemies that spawn other enemies, SO YOU NEVER HAVE CONTROL OVER DIFFICULTY.

    Eurogamer review has it right: These have all been tried, and abandoned, long ago. You're innovating the wrong way.

    Also, the crafting system is nice, but the UI is weird, the walls of text unnecessary, look at Magicka for clues. 250 components? Why? We all play Fire, because by the time I get anything cool I already like the levels I have, plus, Fire has solid damage.

    * Story: Manually shoved exposition, not very captivating story that seems eerily similar to may others, including Spellforce, bugs in dialogues make the story painful even if it WERE interesting. Pausing the game pauses MY voice, but not the other guy's, so, if you escape to check on something and resume everyone talks at the same time. Combine this with trigger for dialogue different from triggers for animations and you have people who have long gone still talking, and then me replying to ... a bit of tree? Also, you can skip the intro (good) but, because the game does almost entirely in-game exposition, there is no skipping. A**holes pop out of the air and the follow you around like Assassin Creed beggars, doing exposition you don't want to hear, giving you bits of info you don't want to pay attention to because there's stuff on screen.

    * UI: Text is small. Seriously small, people, come on, letters in a game should not be half the size of those in a browser, and should not be blue on black. Also, how hard is it to make the on-screen prompts and help actually reflect the bindings? It kept blathering on about [TAB] even though I never used it, because I'm not a WASD player. No matter. Also, if you bind the spells to M2 and M1 instead of M1 and M2, then it's REALLY confusing.

    There's quite a bit of stuff wrong with the game. It has good things in it, in fact, most things are good with it. But for some reason it feels like a good team is lead by an idiot. Technically well made, good idea, and then shot in the knee by checkpoints and the refusal of the developer to let you sneak on an enemy. Maybe they were afraid they'd get another Skyrim.

    If you are the developer, and read this, let me make this clear. You would never get Skyrim. Skyrim lets you save, switch weapons, roam around in a decent map, and WILL allow you to kill a talking NPC just to shut it up.

    Also, Skyrim wasn't very good, it's the mods that make it what it is.

    So, overall, I'm opting for a 6. Above average, before I get stuck replaying a checkpoint 1000 times and I feel like giving it -4.

    It's a good stepping stone for the studio's next game. Let's hope they learn something from this one and stop with the childish notion that difficulty settings are for wimps, that quicksave will make it too easy, and that cooties are real.    … Expand
  4. Knifestyle
    Sep 3, 2014
    7
    The game itself has a pretty straight forward gameplay. It has a beautiful enviroment but the enemies are everywhere! The story is plain and not comprehensible but the fighting system is good. All in all a solid game. 7/10
  5. adff500
    Sep 10, 2014
    5
    +++ Pros +++

    1. Graphics and effects are really good. 2. Soundtrack,background sfx and voiceovers are also good. 3. 4 Episodes campaign divided in sections is ok (perhaps we can get more in DLC or expansions). 4. Various spells and customization to your playstyle. 5. Enemies and their variations are (plus bosses and minibosses) interesting. --- Cons --- 1. No Co-op (there are    +++ Pros +++

    1. Graphics and effects are really good.
    2. Soundtrack,background sfx and voiceovers are also good.
    3. 4 Episodes campaign divided in sections is ok (perhaps we can get more in DLC or expansions).
    4. Various spells and customization to your playstyle.
    5. Enemies and their variations are (plus bosses and minibosses) interesting.

    --- Cons ---

    1. No Co-op (there are 2 characters ready in campaign) or versus multiplayer (mages vs witches would be a blast).
    2. Forced Autoaim (no crosshair), no jump, no sprint (only run), no melee or kick (very lame), no inventory (no trading).
    3. Pathetic motion blur is ON (hidden in custom settings) and when you get hit the screen gets blurred (blur filter - cannot be turn off).
    4. Only one difficulty and the game cheats (player has extra wide collision, enemies unlimited spawning, no collision when they shoot through each other, 4000 HP later in the game and minibosses or champions 50000 HP,less and less checkpoints and so on).
    5. Ocasional crashes during gameplay and loading (especially loading effects).

    Serious Sam: Mage Edition. If you like games like Heretic, Hexen, Painkiller, Serious Sam or Dark Messiah,this game might be right for you.    … Expand
  6. NZMadoc
    Sep 17, 2014
    9
    Fun FPS, First Person Spellcaster. Reminds me of Heretic and Hexen but all grown up. Great looking, fast paced, nice crafting system. For $40 its worth it. Hope they make a sequel and add multiplayer.
  7. Sjalka
    Sep 2, 2014
    8
    Underneath the magic setting lays a more or less conservative 1st person shooter. I would not consider this game to be a RPG, but rather an action shooter with a few RPG elements at best ( a lot less than games like Borderlands )

    there is some kind of mild characterprogression and loot, but it is not at all enough to satisfy the classification as a role playing game. that aside, it    Underneath the magic setting lays a more or less conservative 1st person shooter. I would not consider this game to be a RPG, but rather an action shooter with a few RPG elements at best ( a lot less than games like Borderlands )

    there is some kind of mild characterprogression and loot, but it is not at all enough to satisfy the classification as a role playing game.

    that aside, it is a fun game. It is very linear and consists mainly of large ( from time to time huge ) arena like areas with respawning enemies.

    the game has autoaim for its standard spells - hence feeling a bit easy for an action shooter. It often boils down to kiting and dodging at the right time - since that tactic can be applied to most situations, it does lack some variety.
    I also had the feeling that neither player nor NPC was able to really make use of the enviroment too much, aside from dodging behind a wall. ( but neither a high position for range or a stealthy approach work in that game )

    The enemy AI is fairly poor - about on the level of an older mmorpg - meaning, the enemy spots the player and pretty much follows set patterns .. and is fairly predicatable. the AI is only threatening, because it comes in numbers and generally has much higher stats ( life, damage output - if they hit )

    the graphics are very nice, which is to be expected from the cryengine3. sounddesign is satisfactory, but mostly average.

    the crafting system appears nice at first - but lacks variety ( as strange as it may sound ) - a regular shooter with normal weapons usually offers more variety in terms of useful weapons.

    as a result the game is a VERY good and enjoyable concept - but misses some huge opportunities indeed. due to the cross-over nature of it, it is hard to imagine who is to be satisfied by it - roleplaying gamers will find the game too swallow and empty of depths, action gamers will most probably dislike the autoaim/aimbot - which leaves casual players that are up for a quick gaming experience that looks good but does not require much skill or preparation.    … Expand
  8. Dorana
    Sep 10, 2014
    8
    This game is somewhat of a mixed bag of emotions.

    Right out of the box you are thrown into the story with a somewhat bleached background and somewhat unrefined intro. Once you're in the game you have a lot of beautiful visuals to look at, even if the world is a bit static and you don't have the ability to disrupt that much in the world, by this I mean you would want to destroy crates    This game is somewhat of a mixed bag of emotions.

    Right out of the box you are thrown into the story with a somewhat bleached background and somewhat unrefined intro.

    Once you're in the game you have a lot of beautiful visuals to look at, even if the world is a bit static and you don't have the ability to disrupt that much in the world, by this I mean you would want to destroy crates and other things around you but you are unable to do so.

    Though the game has it's charm.

    It has a very open crafting system for spells, allowing variations in your arsenal of spells, I have seen other described the game as very much rinse and repeat your fireballs, however you can do so much more with your spells, and they can combine to very powerful attacks.
    But even the starter spells offer a great deal of power, I felt like the master of elements right from the start.

    Combining and crafting spells for a varies arsenal is perhaps not the key in the game, some combinations might not be "the best" but they can sure make you feel like a Master of Magic, and knowing how each spell works in junction to each other will allow for a great variation of combinations and play styles.

    I wouldn't say this game has the greatest of replay value due to it's linear model, but it has given me a great hope for any future game in the series.

    I suggest you pick yourself a copy and give it a try, because I see a lot of potential in the future development in the series and even if it's a one time play though. the game made me feel satisfied from start to finish.    … Expand
  9. FuzzyBulb
    Sep 3, 2014
    8
    The game that finally gave a good experience for all of us who always place mage/wizard characters. A great combination of spells and upgrades for them. Real eye candy art and graphics with really enjoyable music. But there is that point on the gameplay, that is a repetetive levels/maps, where after some time u feel like u have done this before. In all together, a fresh breeze on magicThe game that finally gave a good experience for all of us who always place mage/wizard characters. A great combination of spells and upgrades for them. Real eye candy art and graphics with really enjoyable music. But there is that point on the gameplay, that is a repetetive levels/maps, where after some time u feel like u have done this before. In all together, a fresh breeze on magic orientated games.… Expand
  10. locovigo
    Aug 30, 2014
    1
    Not a bad crafting system but nothing special.
    Graphics are polite but, again, nothing especial.
    Music bah. Story is out of interest. Foes have a veeeeeeeeeeery poor and simple IA. Not a challenge in any way if you have a shield decently crafted. Almost any fight its the same, just charge, release, charge, release ..etc Very little chances for an strategical approach. Its not a bad    Not a bad crafting system but nothing special.
    Graphics are polite but, again, nothing especial.
    Music bah.
    Story is out of interest.
    Foes have a veeeeeeeeeeery poor and simple IA. Not a challenge in any way if you have a shield decently crafted.
    Almost any fight its the same, just charge, release, charge, release ..etc Very little chances for an strategical approach.

    Its not a bad game. Just don't worth 40$ and becomes very boring sooner than later.    … Expand
  11. El_Burrito
    Sep 2, 2014
    6
    Lichdom Battlemage is a nice try to make you feel like an all powerful mage, but I feel like it fails in most areas. The base of the game, combat, which you will spend most of your time doing feels rather unsatisfying and sluggish, with a large pause between letting go of your mouse and your character actually firing a spell.

    The spell creation system is poorly explained and a torrent    Lichdom Battlemage is a nice try to make you feel like an all powerful mage, but I feel like it fails in most areas. The base of the game, combat, which you will spend most of your time doing feels rather unsatisfying and sluggish, with a large pause between letting go of your mouse and your character actually firing a spell.

    The spell creation system is poorly explained and a torrent of confusion seeks to overwhelm you. After looking at it several times and eventually figuring it out, it came off as just another factor that felt limiting. You can't make a spell strong unless you obtain drops to allow you to make a strong spell, which is either random or done at set points in the game.

    The story is passable, and I was delighted to hear Clancy Brown, Troy Baker and Jennifer Hale, which I was not expecting.

    Overall, I feel like the game fails in its primary goal to make you feel like an uninhibited mage, but with some nice ideas. There's barely any reason to stop using fire spells, but there are quite a few other sets of magic (ice, lightning and kinesis at least) to mess around with.

    Wouldn't recommend for full price.    … Expand
  12. BradPietrzakII
    Jan 19, 2015
    10
    ok ... so im not a very picky gamer. but that also means that I don't like trash how do you know your not a picky gamer??? well if you find that the times you didn't look at critic views or want to be major critics and you actually enjoyed the game based on your judgment of youtube videos and other who ha then odds are your probably not ultimately picky but you like to be cautious which isok ... so im not a very picky gamer. but that also means that I don't like trash how do you know your not a picky gamer??? well if you find that the times you didn't look at critic views or want to be major critics and you actually enjoyed the game based on your judgment of youtube videos and other who ha then odds are your probably not ultimately picky but you like to be cautious which is completely fine most of the time I look at critics but I find that a lot of times they are just being super picky and you miss out on a lot of good content that is out there if you need to go for critics find one who fits your personality and follow them on reviews never has failed me

    this game is defiantly not a master piece like these triple a titles are sometimes. but it is a good game a very good game. if you like action and intense challenging combat with a lot of very unique spells fun crafting system then this game is for you you will enjoy this game if your not one of those stick in the ass gamers its 40 dollars its not so expensive and you can reply it at least a couple of times because you can choose a multitude of different spell types each time to focus on through each playthrough the only thing I could say it is missing is a multiplayer co op and competitive this game is a worth it buy

    here is the bottom line for this game......
    graphics 9 out of 10 really good
    combat challenging and addicting it revolutionizes mage combat and I am normally a warrior if mage combat was like this all the time I would choose a mage lol 10 out of 10 revolutionizing
    story ehhh hard to pay attention to it really is weak to this point but that to me isn't what it is about its about being a badass mage that woops ass you don't judge games like this on story so I wont either [[[[[[[story equals exempt]]]]]]] if you want story get the witcher that game has amazing story and that's what you play that game for
    audio-like sound effects and in game music is really good and the sounds in combinations with the animations and graphics make for really satisfying deaths of your enemy's they did a superb job with these 9 out of 10
    animations are also very good in this game especially spell animations holy cow they are great looking 9.5 out of 10 vey supurb

    im giving this game a 10 out of ten to balance out the super picky with the normal people who just want to not get a bad game this game is worth the money

    I repeat if you want to be able to suck up enemy's is a fast acting black hole or make multiple enemy's explode into little bits
    or want to be creative like suck one guy or multiple into a time stasis weaken them so a spell type does double damage blast them with that spell then teleport them out of the time stasis make them explode to end up triggering a time slow or even time stop and rain hell on everyone then this game is for you and I am not exadurating anything of what I just said you can do all of that and wayyyyyy more combat is as good as your creativity can possibly get and the crafting is very very deep anyone who says otherwise isn't willi9ing to learn it to its full extent the owners are also constantly bringing out updates that bring new things to crafting spell types and anything else im talking major updates not glitch fixes like most games and these updates are free not bull crap dlc that is typically over priced for what it is

    if you are not a picky gamer and are easily entertained then you will be very satisfied with what this has to offer and enjoy it if you are picky read reviews of people who are really picky and get your answer    … Expand
  13. akarnokd
    Jan 11, 2015
    7
    Quite a good looking game. However, the levels were really long, tedious and a bit boring. Maybe I didn't get the crafting system, but as the game progressed, it took more and more hits to kill an enemy. At the end, I only used lightning because the chain effect would deal damage to other enemies, saving time. The story feels a bit disconnected, never understood how we got from one boss toQuite a good looking game. However, the levels were really long, tedious and a bit boring. Maybe I didn't get the crafting system, but as the game progressed, it took more and more hits to kill an enemy. At the end, I only used lightning because the chain effect would deal damage to other enemies, saving time. The story feels a bit disconnected, never understood how we got from one boss to the other. Some UI text were really tiny (~5 pixel), barely could read them even from up close my monitor.… Expand
  14. Soujirop
    Sep 4, 2014
    6
    Great graphics, great voice acting... And sadly, that pretty much sums it up. Only 8 spells available despite the fake advertising "of thousands of spells". You can modify the spells to a degree, and with a "degree" I mean changing a burst DPS spell to a DOT spell, because not much more is allowed, and most of the time, the animation/magic visual effect does not even change. My advice toGreat graphics, great voice acting... And sadly, that pretty much sums it up. Only 8 spells available despite the fake advertising "of thousands of spells". You can modify the spells to a degree, and with a "degree" I mean changing a burst DPS spell to a DOT spell, because not much more is allowed, and most of the time, the animation/magic visual effect does not even change. My advice to those wanting to play the game: put those 40€ in Skyrim and download some magic mods. It will be an overall better experience as a "battlemage". Period.… Expand
  15. Juneday
    Aug 31, 2014
    10
    If you ever wanted to play borderlands-like magic game with tons of magic combinations, pretty nice graphics, long main story with tons of challenges and secrets - this game is your choice.
  16. Woodness
    Sep 28, 2014
    10
    So a lot of negative reviews are from players that hardly played it or hardly used the crafted stuff.
    The crafting system is a strange thing, feels a bit random but that makes it so you can't steamroll everything I guess. Not a bad thing otherwise it would be just too easy!
    The game look amazing, the voice overs are GREAT, top notch voice actors. The spell arange from simple balls of    So a lot of negative reviews are from players that hardly played it or hardly used the crafted stuff.
    The crafting system is a strange thing, feels a bit random but that makes it so you can't steamroll everything I guess. Not a bad thing otherwise it would be just too easy!
    The game look amazing, the voice overs are GREAT, top notch voice actors. The spell arange from simple balls of ice, fire, lightning etc to rays, traps, stuff that drops down on your foes etc. Combinations of those make the enemies melt their faces off. It is a fun game, seeing how far it has come since the EA.
    Check it out yourself instead of reading all the negative stuff from here, they all feel more as Early Acces reviews.    … Expand
  17. SpawnCap
    Aug 31, 2014
    8
    Lichdom is the most polished indie game title out there!

    All other indie titles are nothing but side scrolling platformers that could be made and run on systems 30 years ago, or mindless multiplayer shooters where you jump and shoot at your friends on some misc. map. Great gameplay, spell crafting, graphics, enemy types. Note: This game is brutally hard and for those true hard    Lichdom is the most polished indie game title out there!

    All other indie titles are nothing but side scrolling platformers that could be made and run on systems 30 years ago, or mindless multiplayer shooters where you jump and shoot at your friends on some misc. map.

    Great gameplay, spell crafting, graphics, enemy types.

    Note: This game is brutally hard and for those true hard core gamers willing to put in the time to learn the spell crafting system. If a hard boss makes you not like a game then do not get this game. It is not your average simple minded FPS or platformer.

    If you want simple minded go purchase a Ratchet and Clank game.    … Expand
  18. Meta-Man
    Sep 2, 2014
    8
    I really love the fast pacing of the combat, around almost every corner there are enemies waiting for you. These enemies lack variety, that’s for sure. And while I did not complete the game I have a feeling there won’t be much enemies variety, even when reaching the end.
    This game reminds of Dark souls based on the brutal death punishment (checkpoint won’t be that far, but the enemies    I really love the fast pacing of the combat, around almost every corner there are enemies waiting for you. These enemies lack variety, that’s for sure. And while I did not complete the game I have a feeling there won’t be much enemies variety, even when reaching the end.
    This game reminds of Dark souls based on the brutal death punishment (checkpoint won’t be that far, but the enemies will respawn), and the fact you will need to start figuring things out on your own (or look them up on the internet), also the fact that death will come to you if you’re not paying attention. That combined with the fade class from natural selection, and the fact it plays like a fast pace shooter (serious sam, pain killer) makes it very very enjoyable for me.
    I love the lobs, the missiles are auto aim and no go (except for frost maybe) for anyone looking for a good test of skills. But lobbing fire balls and electric balls, I can go all day. Lobbing requires lots of skill and gives great satisfaction, if you lob your fireball, which in turn will erupt into multi fireballs, gives an extreme satisfying feeling. Combined with unlimited blink upgrade, “I can dance all day”. As once a famous fps(dough) player said.
    Is it worth 40 euros? I Can’t tell, and no one here can tell you. I have no clue how interesting they make it in new game plus. This game is more like, you pick a play style: auto aim/ lob’s , blinks / counter. You stun your enemies and blast them to hell with great fireworks , while dancing all day.
    Bosses will be hard and there will be points you will die a lot. Once that happens you will start upgrading your stuff and comeback to bring mass destruction.
    Cons:
    • Great FPS skill required (for some, not auto aim relying play styles)
    • Very nice graphics (if you have high end pc)
    • Fun, brutal and rewarding
    • hard
    • Original (gameplay based)
    • Great dlc potential
    Negs:
    • Enemy variation (where are the humans/elves/orcs to blast away?)
    • Repetitive once you find your play style (rather repeat a very fun thing 1000 times, than play all sort of boring gameplay varations)    … Expand
  19. raiden9779
    Aug 28, 2014
    10
    Lichdom Battlemage is a heavy, fast, and mean game. You are dropped into a beautiful world and then set free to destroy everything in sight. Be prepared because some of the content is a little extreme, and it gets even more intense as the characters develop. The spells are powerfully wicked and the blasts feel very satisfying somehow. The art is amazing, and I love the music, which isLichdom Battlemage is a heavy, fast, and mean game. You are dropped into a beautiful world and then set free to destroy everything in sight. Be prepared because some of the content is a little extreme, and it gets even more intense as the characters develop. The spells are powerfully wicked and the blasts feel very satisfying somehow. The art is amazing, and I love the music, which is scary and fantastic. It is well worth my $40.… Expand
  20. up2zero
    Oct 8, 2014
    9
    75 hrs on record as seen in the Steam reviews. 9.0 score from me relative to the size of the development team and the creativity. A must for anyone who likes the idea of being a mage without losing stamina from spamming your opponents with spells.

    I got this game upon pre-alpha release and have had an absolute blast. It was a fantastic game then and even better now. It's    75 hrs on record as seen in the Steam reviews. 9.0 score from me relative to the size of the development team and the creativity. A must for anyone who likes the idea of being a mage without losing stamina from spamming your opponents with spells.

    I got this game upon pre-alpha release and have had an absolute blast. It was a fantastic game then and even better now. It's beautiful...great textures. There is a lot of 'replayability' due to the fact that there are spells you must commit to in order to get them leveled enough to finish off the bosses. You will want to play again putting your crafting abilities towards other spells in your replaying of the game.
    This is not open world and all loot comes from the deaths of some enemies in the form of a spell crafting
    The development team is very active in the forums and care about your opinion.
    This is not an easy game. The enemies behave like real people, not bots so you feel like your playing online enemies.
    (Prepare to learn from your mistakes and replay a few areas and bosses.)
    Some enemies can morph behind you which is unnerving and sometimes irritating.
    Spell Crafting is key to this game. The spell crafting has a large learning curve so watch tutorials and read the in-game journal. Upgrade your shield through spell crafting. That's overlooked by many.

    There have been time when I have immersed myself in this game all night but many nights it's just a nice, fun way to fill part of my gaming evening. I can't think of any other game like this. As for the story, I don't care about stories in most games and can't review what I haven't paid attention to. I just have fun being a mage that's not shackled down by mana bars so you can spam your spell button all you want.

    Bravo to the developers. This team is one you want to follow. Although I am sure much more energy will be put into this game, any games after this will grand; And with some investors I can imagine an amazing multiplay game or even a series to compete with Elder Scroll, Dark Souls, etc. but do not expect that in this game.    … Expand
  21. zerodarkzone
    Aug 28, 2014
    9
    It is a very good game, it has great graphics, very good music and lots of spells. The game can ve hard some times, but when you learn how the craft system works you become a really powerful and badass mage
  22. Garfoodle
    Sep 2, 2014
    3
    Call of Duty-Mage Edition
    Thats about the extent of it. The game looks great, and sounds great, but when we strip it of that, all thats left is a gruffy Man/Woman going on a Cliche tale with a spell instead of a gun
    Consider this one a miss
  23. kaldon
    Aug 28, 2014
    9
    Lichdom Battlemage is a great game. There are a few minor issues but considering what some companies pass off as release ready software this game is a diamond by comparison. The art is really good the music is phenomenal. This game for 39.99 is a STELLAR bargain, they could have charged 59.99 for it and it would be worth it, at this price point its a must play for people that like this mixLichdom Battlemage is a great game. There are a few minor issues but considering what some companies pass off as release ready software this game is a diamond by comparison. The art is really good the music is phenomenal. This game for 39.99 is a STELLAR bargain, they could have charged 59.99 for it and it would be worth it, at this price point its a must play for people that like this mix of gameplay.… Expand
  24. TezzOwns
    Aug 29, 2014
    8
    The first epic single-player fps game where mages are total badasses. This game is easily worth $39.99 so I recommend buying it if you are into magic and action. It has a unique approach into the fps genre which makes this game so darn cool. Tons of devastating spells and monsters to fight makes this game have a complex, fast-paced and satisfying experience. The graphics and music are alsoThe first epic single-player fps game where mages are total badasses. This game is easily worth $39.99 so I recommend buying it if you are into magic and action. It has a unique approach into the fps genre which makes this game so darn cool. Tons of devastating spells and monsters to fight makes this game have a complex, fast-paced and satisfying experience. The graphics and music are also excellent as it suits the atmosphere of the game. I heavily recommend this game even if you're not an fps type of person as it will show you a whole different perspective in the fps genre. Fun, difficult and total badass of a game.… Expand
  25. sisho
    Sep 5, 2014
    6
    I made a big mistake in reviewing this game with less than 5 hours played.
    As much as I liked the atmosphere, the magic crafting system, the setting and everything else, there's one thing I can't ignore: It IS a boring game. Spending more time playing It made me realise that every good and spectacular characteristic of the game is shadowed bay the poor slow pace and repetitive gameplay.    I made a big mistake in reviewing this game with less than 5 hours played.
    As much as I liked the atmosphere, the magic crafting system, the setting and everything else, there's one thing I can't ignore: It IS a boring game. Spending more time playing It made me realise that every good and spectacular characteristic of the game is shadowed bay the poor slow pace and repetitive gameplay.
    In the end, Lichdom: Battlemage ends up feeling like a showcase for a really cool magic system that could be implemented into some next gen RPG.    … Expand
  26. Nile3
    Sep 1, 2014
    3
    Terrible console game.
    Very linear, kinda slow.
    Gameplay is fireballs, shield, fireballs.
    Crafting subsystem is weird, it isn't clear and when you get it right, it doesn't give you that much more.
    It feels like some old people made the game. The story is somewhat dumb. I wonder who financed this project...
    Oh, and the graphics are good as a saving grace.
  27. Donkerbonker
    Aug 31, 2014
    4
    Judging from the first few hours of gameplay because why I should I play more of something I don't enjoy?

    The gameplay is drudgingly boring and monotone, the movement feels unnatural and clunky, the interface is not user-friendly and seems to have been ripped out of a console game (think Skyrim or Witcher 2, maybe worse) and it has a checkpoint saving system. There is nothing of note    Judging from the first few hours of gameplay because why I should I play more of something I don't enjoy?

    The gameplay is drudgingly boring and monotone, the movement feels unnatural and clunky, the interface is not user-friendly and seems to have been ripped out of a console game (think Skyrim or Witcher 2, maybe worse) and it has a checkpoint saving system.

    There is nothing of note in terms of atmosphere and story. I guess the voice acting is fairly good but there's really nothing really appealing or original to it.

    Graphics/artwork is okay and pretty-looking, but generally uninspired.

    I must admit that I did not really explore the game's crafting system, but the lackluster interface killed any interest I had in trying it out.    … Expand
  28. dazzler964
    Dec 10, 2014
    10
    This game has a very well crafted world, along with what I find believable characters and a compelling story. The graphics and art style is very serious and realistic, with fantastic locations.
    Combat in Lichdom: Battlemage is repetitive, however I don't understand how it is more repetitive than 99% of other games. The combat is fluent and fits into the game, and a variety of enemies and    This game has a very well crafted world, along with what I find believable characters and a compelling story. The graphics and art style is very serious and realistic, with fantastic locations.
    Combat in Lichdom: Battlemage is repetitive, however I don't understand how it is more repetitive than 99% of other games. The combat is fluent and fits into the game, and a variety of enemies and locations keeps it quite interesting.    … Expand
  29. Ghost67
    Dec 31, 2014
    6
    Lichdom; Battlemage's idea is simple; you rampage through the game casting spells and causing general mayhem. The game has good things and bad things going for it. If you are thinking about getting the game, you'll have to weigh the good and the bad. Unfortunately, the main problem with Lichdom is the core gameplay of actually casting spells. It's a weird experiment that's KIND OF goneLichdom; Battlemage's idea is simple; you rampage through the game casting spells and causing general mayhem. The game has good things and bad things going for it. If you are thinking about getting the game, you'll have to weigh the good and the bad. Unfortunately, the main problem with Lichdom is the core gameplay of actually casting spells. It's a weird experiment that's KIND OF gone wrong.

    In this review I will be covering the Good/Bad/Ugly, but in order to do so I have to explain the combat system, so bear with me.

    Lichdom seems to draw inspiration from Skyrim, but melds Skyrim's magic combat with the structure of a classical run n gun shooter, with linear stages.This is not open world, so if you are looking for something more freeform, Skyrim is that way. This is just like a shooter, much more simple, but with magic instead of guns. The magic itself, and your attacks, are *freeform* part of the game, but it comes with a big catch.

    The Good:

    + The graphics/art and environments are great. Alot of hard work has gone into crafting the stages you'll be running through.

    + The voice acting is excellent. You have heavy hitters like the almighty Clancy Brown.

    + The story/lore isnt that bad either. It's not great, but it's not bad either. It's satisfying. A revenge quest? Sure, let's do it. Simple, but effective. Sometimes simplicity is best.

    + The loot and crafting system is great. You receive different parts that modify a spell combination from kills.

    The Bad:

    - The main problem of that game is the gameplay. Lichdom suffers from the fact that it should still be in beta, and feels like it. The gameplay has not been tested outside of the office, and it feels like it.

    There are 3 main different kinds of spells. Your standard projectile, an AOE, and a shield/block attack. You can hold your buttons down to "charge" these spells for a critical and additional effects. Your shield/block, when timed correctly, produces a "nova" effect, like a fire wall.

    Sound's good so far, right?

    Well, here are where the problems come in. Charging becomes extremely important because of these additional effects. These include things like stunning, freezing, rooting, critical, etc etc. Unfortunately, Charging and casting spells is really sluggish. Even when you don't charge, it takes a long time to cast a spell - about 1- to 1.5 seconds. This is a VERY fast paced game. Charging takes an average of 3 seconds. During these 3 seconds, you will be filled to the gills from enemy fire.

    So, what do you do? You basically spam Fireballs. Fireballs are the most efficient way of killing enemies. Most enemies will die from 1-2 crits from Fireballs. So, why bother to stun or root when you can kill in 1 shot? Yes, you can add damage to crowd control spells, but the damage from Fire is much better. The other posters here arent lying when they say that you will run through the game spamming fireballs. It's that simple.

    - This extends to the fact that you have really cool spells, like a frost ground trap, that is hardly used. Who tested this? During those 2 seconds it will take you to place your trap, you already soaked arrow fire and lost 1/3 of your health.

    - The game's advertising of *thousands* of spells is err, somewhat misleading. Of course, it's marketing. See, technically there are thousands of spells, but they are really permutations of baseline spells.

    The Ugly:

    - The tutorial is god awful and composes of quick videos explaining parts of the game that are critical for your survival.. These are extremely important and can be very complex, including "mastery" debuffs that I still don't understand. It's really poorly explained

    - You have 2 different inventories, which are confusing as hell. None of this is explained. The tutorial basically said, "The advanced inventory are for advanced players only." And that advanced inventory is really, really important for crafting those cool spells you want crafted.

    - The difficulty curve is brutal. Make no mistake, once you are past the first boss sh!t gets crazy. We're talking hordes of RANGED enemies. Remember that shield with nova? Again, NO REASON to use it when you can kill with fireballs from afar. And the fact of the matter is that there are more ranged enemies than melee, which really throws this out of the window.

    - The game has a "loot rarity" level system. Basically, as you advance you gain levels up in the rarity of spell components you gain. This loot rarity level is RESET when you DIE. Why? The developers havea half-assed explanation on their boards on Steam but it really doesnt make sense. This just ends up punishing players and is cruel. This ends up rewarding safe and easy gameplay - basically, fireball spam. And there is no save option.

    Lichdom is not a bad game. But it's not worth the $40 spent on it. Lichdom, for all the fancy voice acting and graphics, is still in beta and needs more work. Hopefully the sequel will be better.    … Expand
  30. Potitoman
    Dec 28, 2014
    5
    Good concept, good graphics, very competent technical execution. The problem is that it's so BORING!
    This should be called a backwards walking simulator. You just spend your whole time walking backwards, waiting for your spell to power up.
    It feels that this game was so close to being something awesome but they padded the hell out of the game to artificially make it longer and it    Good concept, good graphics, very competent technical execution. The problem is that it's so BORING!
    This should be called a backwards walking simulator. You just spend your whole time walking backwards, waiting for your spell to power up.

    It feels that this game was so close to being something awesome but they padded the hell out of the game to artificially make it longer and it ultimately becomes repetitive and very, very predictable.

    I do hope they make a sequel as I'm sure they would have learned from their mistakes.
    A game that you can see had a lot of promise but missed the mark by a looooooong shot.    … Expand
  31. scoobers
    Oct 15, 2014
    1
    The dev gutted the awesome slomotion blink for a wow style blink and said that they planned to never have it back nor fix it. One stated in a forum post that he will continue to fight it down to his last breath that it should not nor will not ever be worked on.
    Lazy.. it was easier to can it and go generic. The only redeemer is the voice actors but they were given an awful script to read    The dev gutted the awesome slomotion blink for a wow style blink and said that they planned to never have it back nor fix it. One stated in a forum post that he will continue to fight it down to his last breath that it should not nor will not ever be worked on.
    Lazy.. it was easier to can it and go generic. The only redeemer is the voice actors but they were given an awful script to read so that is not saying much for this game.

    Such a boring ui as well, what is with all the devs and high contrst white on black...    … Expand
  32. ave
    Jul 21, 2018
    5
    Well, I sincerely tried several times to give Lichdom Battlemage its chances, but I simply ended up not being excited by it. Maybe it's the magic / runes system that is too complex to approach and memorize, maybe it's the slugginess of combat, maybe it's the slot-machine feel of rewards, maybe it's the Excel feel of crafting spells... For me its was either : do a turn by turn game ; orWell, I sincerely tried several times to give Lichdom Battlemage its chances, but I simply ended up not being excited by it. Maybe it's the magic / runes system that is too complex to approach and memorize, maybe it's the slugginess of combat, maybe it's the slot-machine feel of rewards, maybe it's the Excel feel of crafting spells... For me its was either : do a turn by turn game ; or make it more like the old Heretic / Hexen. Or maybe I'm just getting to old for this.… Expand
  33. Steyraus
    May 27, 2021
    8
    Great game with origional combat , awsome narative and story. Sling fire balls and blasting ice beams is a great change from bullets and plasma.
  34. bigred411
    Feb 22, 2015
    4
    This game seems like the developers liked playing a mage on Skyrim and made a game focused on that kind of combat. The magic creation system is kind of strange and even after 6+ hours of playing it's more of a chore then something I like to do. I could not even finish the game because it became such a chore. So fun for the first 4 hours or so.
  35. mijxero
    Sep 15, 2016
    4
    This is a hard one to rate. I want to give it a high score because I love shooters and I love wizards, so I mean what could go wrong? Well everything that made those things fun, apparently. Aside from the good voice acting and decent graphics you fight the same enemies over and over, which would be okay if combat was actually fun. The problem is this: shooters have very few guns thatThis is a hard one to rate. I want to give it a high score because I love shooters and I love wizards, so I mean what could go wrong? Well everything that made those things fun, apparently. Aside from the good voice acting and decent graphics you fight the same enemies over and over, which would be okay if combat was actually fun. The problem is this: shooters have very few guns that require charging and if they do, they do much more damage. Well in battlemage if you want to spells to do more than a light tickle they need to be charge, and they also need a mastery spell cast first. While charging you move slower as well. So 50% of combat is charging spells while slowly trying to sidestep attacks. It gets tiresome fast and the other bad thing is that many enemies freeze, stun, slow, and knock you down both annoying you and canceling any charging spell. The spellcrafting system is overly complicated for something that offers very little depth. I really wanted to like this, but in the end it was more of a chore than a game.… Expand
  36. Tomle1202
    Jun 16, 2016
    6
    Lichdom: Battlemage flashes its colorfully magical powers before your eyes to hide its painfully repetitive nature, lazily written story and annoyingly technical issues.
  37. Ashoten
    Jun 17, 2015
    1
    Uninspired boring story. Slow Gameplay with predictable A.I. couldn't hold my interest long enough to bother with the crafting system which I am sure would boil down to 'Charge attack and fire 1,000 times'
  38. CamyVero
    Sep 23, 2021
    7
    Se trata de un buen FPS de la vieja escuela, en vez de tener armas tienes hechizos, con un sistema que te permite craftearlos y combinarlos. Aunque el desarrollo es pasillero tiene un pequeño componente de exploración para buscar ciertos artefactos coleccionables. Batallas con grandes jefes y bellos y bien detallados escenarios. Se puede encontrar a precio de saldo por ahi, eso sí enSe trata de un buen FPS de la vieja escuela, en vez de tener armas tienes hechizos, con un sistema que te permite craftearlos y combinarlos. Aunque el desarrollo es pasillero tiene un pequeño componente de exploración para buscar ciertos artefactos coleccionables. Batallas con grandes jefes y bellos y bien detallados escenarios. Se puede encontrar a precio de saldo por ahi, eso sí en perfecto inglés. Recomendado… Expand
  39. Anelor
    Nov 2, 2019
    10
    Lichdom: Battlemage brings to the table exactly what it promises: an unshackled mage.
    You are limited and doomed only by your own inability to use the surroundings, kiting path, specialization of spell combinations and staying mobile.
    You can have active 3 schools of magic and in this build that I tried, the choices are: • Ice - Perfect for control and for lining up the big guns o    Lichdom: Battlemage brings to the table exactly what it promises: an unshackled mage.
    You are limited and doomed only by your own inability to use the surroundings, kiting path, specialization of spell combinations and staying mobile.
    You can have active 3 schools of magic and in this build that I tried, the choices are:
    • Ice - Perfect for control and for lining up the big guns
    o Increased duration of chill
    o Damage reduction while casting
    o Slowing/Freezing enemies
    o Increasing critical damage of subsequent spells
    • Fire – De-Buff and Destroy
    o Damage over time in an AOE area or as single point spell
    o Stagger your foes
    o BBQ what is frozen for nice explosion
    • Kinetic – Just started with it
    o Does low damage in itself but on a frozen target, it hits like a truck
    • Parasite – Just started with it
    o Gives a De-Buff of flash eating parasites to one or more foes
    • Control – Just started with it
    o Mind control of enemies, self-explanatory
    • Lightning – Just started with it
    o Forks out, electrocutes bunched up groups

    You are given 3 spells per school and a barrier that you can customize:
    • Barrier
    o Protects you
    o When activated while being attacked, you can trigger a Nova of the currently active school of magic
    • Nova
    o When triggered (timing during getting hit) unleashes even ranged damage to the attacker (thorns effect)
    o Can freeze foes around you/burn them/maybe toss them away?
    • Target Spell
    o Single target spells with various effects and shapes
    • AOE
    o AOE can deal damage or de-buff everything that is caught in it.

    The only loot in the game are spell components that you can mix up or split up again. There is a rarity in spells (white, green, blue …).
    You can combine it as you want.

    I love foes getting entangled in corners while being hammered.
    The game style might feel a bit repetitive: dodge, freeze, hit, run – repeat but its fun.
    The story line good and involving, I would love more content besides the N+ as I really liked it for the 50+h I played it.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 24, 2014
    80
    After the first 5 hours I was delighted with Lichdom, shocked by its awesomeness even. Then repetitiveness reared its ugly head and my enthusiasm started fading, especially when around the 12 hour mark (when the game should have ended for its own sake) I realized that the story is far from over. Anyhow, Lichdom has a spark that makes you want to come back to it and the spell crafting system is truly amazing. It’s just better to enjoy it in small doses. [Nov 2014, p.68]
  2. Gamers' Temple
    Oct 20, 2014
    78
    A fireball on the verge of a meltdown.
    Read full review
  3. Everyeye.it
    Oct 14, 2014
    60
    The graphics are really, really good, but all those shiny things end up clashing with a lacking gameplay, and that's a true shame.
    Read full review
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